The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1887-02-11
MR.. DENNIS ANDTHE MORTGAGE TAX
Editor Of the Fgis and fnteligencer :

To the Editor Of the AIgis and iatelli1encer:
DEAR SIR: 1t may be that you do not wish to
have your columns burdened with such articles
as NOSE from MT; Dennis and myself about the
as Mr.. Dennis has assumed things to be true that
are r,h nov true TO my damage and to the damage
notice his late letter to you.
lt:wili not be necessary for Mr.. Dennis to say
!hat ne dld not mean to msstate any thing; for
know that, but the damage is no less on that
account 1t is great loss to the State that such
men as Mr.. Dennis and Gov. Hamilton have the
for they have the good of the State at heart and
really 90 much good in II, in the way of pointing
out evils, but II others did not employ the means
by which Improvement might be made, our grew
ances would be eternal.
Now let US illustrate the truth of this:
MIR. Dennis was member of a convention Of
farmers whose object in meeting was to imnrove
their condition generally. His position in thai
o BODY was highly influential because of his con-
ceded Dr1ght mind and blameless life. The farm
ers, all agree, Mr.. Dennis as well al others are
greatly wronged by unjust and illegal taxation.
There was no attempt made to obtain the earliest
possible amendment in the tax laws nv the adone
ton OF resolution that the farmers would npt
vote ior any person for the Legislature, or for
constitutional convention, who would not pledge
himself to vote for equalization of taxationNuf
less such person was in favor of taxing mort
gage deots MT Dennis says, but that is not true
u was neither expressed nor intended-yet while
MI. Dennls wanted mortgage debts taxed, he
says, and while he says the resolutions called fn,
pledge from the proposed Legislators that the1
would vote to further his own purposesi His
speech on this point. which give below is of
possibly be given that men may be SO CONSTITUTE
ed that they can be Of no practical use except
every way estimable and even able. III
Mr.. ). U: Dennis saidsome of the provisions of
n me resolution were fatal to it. We cannot
pledBe ourselves TO certain measures The oues-
ton or taxation comes right home to every man
IN the land. No course should be allowed that
would force any man to certain lines of action
r. m fho
the me taxation OF mortgages. Shall the exemp-
non non allowed by law stand or be wiped out?
ty. Is mortgage properly or not Prnnertr
is land, terra trma-something storms cany
s@eep away me legislature has said mortga-
objection Is that the owner of land is taxed for
II, ana tof me mortgage, too. deny it. The
gage. The Indebtedness is not taxed II tho
owner OF the land is taxed for the mortgage II ia
eK eS b ewn gnsen He to
expressly says the debt secured by MORTGAGE
shall be exempt. That means the written
agrees to pay the tax, it is SO because he agr
to do 1t, and not because the law saws so. Tho
government must be kept up, come what NAV
If one-haf the property is exempt, there is dis.
elimination. The resolution imposes a pledge
is impracticabe, and makes the matter q nartv,
qH fSe Which. think viii prove fatal to us"
batting society club, when one or the debaters.
a. making long and loud argument sudden
IT. nanr
which side was on any how2" -''
MT. Dennis says the thing aimed at was The
taxation OF mortgages when he made his speech.
and That he was in favor of 1t. That he shouiS
afterwards say he was in favor of it was onite
as necessary for him to say to those who heard
II, OF VINO read ms speech, as it was for certain
painter who mad made picture to put nj the
bottom OF II, This is Horse" for no nersnn
would otherwise know that he was in favor Of
taxing mortgages. VI
Now say distinctly that the taxation Of mort
cages was not the aim of the resolutions, as am
opposed to the taxation of mortgages and voted
in the Senate always against their taxation be.
cause II law Is made to tax them the mortga
gor Is Immediately made to pay the tax on ali
existing MORTGAGES, for he comes at once within
the operation or that clause in nearly all exist
ing mortgages by which he agrees to paw 'all
taxes and public dues that may be levied there
Yet the equalization of taxation cannot he
effected unless the property secured BY mort
gage is taxed In some form. As Mr.. Dennis
says, the mortgage is one thing, and the debt
which the mortgage secures, is another thing
and now will say that still another thing is the
use OF INC me legal machinery of this State to
machinery to collect this debt and the Interest
on it, is what would tax, and 1 would tax it,
gage say of 81, 600 to exactly the extent AZ The
SlOOO would be If 1t were in some other form of
property, the mortgagor would not in extend
ing mortgages, be compellable to pay such tax
by virtue of his agreement to pay ali taxes and -
public dues that might be levied on the mortgage
ton would be on neither. 1 know Mr. Dennis
will hold UP his hands and cry. what Mons
sense" why 1t would be unconstitutional to
deprive man or the use of the laws to enforce
his rights" But that Is not so. If one man in
this State owes another, during a certain speci-
ned time, the creditor has the use of the laws for
enforcing his claim, but the condition is impos-
ed that the laws be used within a specified time.
certain offences are punishable in this State
provided the offender be prosecuted within a
certain time here a condition is imposed that
the law b, be put In operation within stated
period. This Is a condition that must be COM
n w aaFnF Mt
SO, II stamp Is required to be annually placed
upon the record of a mortgage as a Condition
when i. NOT performed, the owner Of the mort
gage cannot avail OF the laws of the State to en-
force payment Of the debt, or the interest, will
that not be constitutional law? The practical
cation of taxation, as of all other lust things
Yet he Is not in favor of the plain, straiehtfor-
ward, efectual and legal way of bringing about
a pledge that will promote 1t IL they are elected
in the Legislature, and when he makes a speech'
% favor taxing MORTGAGES he uses such language
whether he is in favor of 1t or not, but incline
strongly to the belief that he is opposed to it,
Now how can that concentration Of effort and
directness of purpose which results in benefieiai
iegislationofn Reform-be expected from such
Gov. Hamilton leads in the same way. If the
law that was formerly in force 10 Maryland still
existed: by which common scolds" were duck
ed, his friends would probably have to protect
him from that punishment, for he scolds
continually but when an opportunity offers for
him to abate great evils he interposes and pre-
AS an illustration of this will state one case
out OF number.
10 1889 the Legislature was besieged by petit
lions from very large number of the most re-
spectacle people of the State calling for the sale
Of swill milk to be stopped,
Largenumbers of benevolent people, including
many physicians and other scientific people,
represented that great numbers of infants an
nuaiiy feil victims to the use of such milk and
that the public health was seriously Impaired
merely. Farmers and dairymen, whose especial
passage of the bill. 1t had no opponents that /
know OF, except the distillers in and about the
city OF baltimore. The Senate passed the bill
by ABOUT three-fourths vote and the House
passed it by vote of about 81 to 20 yet the
Governor vetoed it.
His value as the friend of the people and as
a. Inauguration of better things is illustrated by
his course in regard to the milk BILL and his tall
ents as a leader are well shown by the result of
his campaign against Mr. Compton in 1882. He
had made the State resound from the mountains
tion of Mr.. Compton as Treasurer of the State
making the general charge that the Treasurer
was IL league with plunderers Of the treasury.
grossly, the laws of the State as Treasurer.
Marshaling his forces with great noise and
pomp, think see him now, prancing over the
other representing the interests of land and water
ike the old State Seal. and at last closing up his
'anks for the final assault. Then see him again,
nan whom he had chosen to carry the flag of
purity at the head of the column, and In whose
avor he had drawn on every resource, had re-
senate and House Of Delegates standing besides
Governor McLane when he was inaugurated,
Wishing the new Governor might have an admin
" it would be to see John &. owens perso-
~ E. M. ALLEN.
VI